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Travel

As someone who bikes for recreation and transportation, I couldn’t wait to visit what has been dubbed the nation’s “bicycle-friendliest” city: Portland, Oregon. This river city of fit, intelligent, creative people is so vibrant that every day of my rainy week, I got pedaling at dawn and rolled into the night.

Portland is visually stimulating, with so many neat bridges (with bike lanes, some of which lead into riverside bike trails), cheerful billboards (with messages ranging from “Adopt a Best Friend” to “Laugh”), historic buildings, an urban wildlife refuge, and even the most authentic Chinese gardens outside of China. Called Lan Su, the gardens were built on a decrepit parking lot, and besides spirit-cleansing scenery, they offer wonderful teas and free tai chi classes.

The whirring of bicycle tires is a metaphor for the creative thinking that is rampant among Portlanders. While perusing the contemporary craft museum and galleries of the Pearl District, I particularly appreciated Gabriel Manca’s brawny/compassionate mixed-media works, some of which challenged the premise that Earth’s animals and resources exist for humans to exploit.

It’s a city with a hearty “DIY” culture; independent businesses abound. New home-growns to seek out around town include Trailhead Coffee Roasters and Missionary Chocolates. Charlie Wicker’s heavenly coffees are sourced from a women’s farmers co-op, and they are carbon neutral … he pedals his custom coffee cart around festivals and bike events. I love his Guatemala Tree Line Roast, with its notes of chocolate and raspberry. He shares a production facility with Melissa Berry, who handcrafts dairy-free, gluten-free, and absolutely divine missionary chocolates. Truffle varieties include ginger, lemon, and cinnamon chipotle. Find them at fine food stops such as the new Back to Eden Bakery, which makes moon pies, lime coconut cake, and other all-vegan delights.

The Steven Smith Teamaker studio-shop was recently opened by the creator of Stash and Tazo teas. He returned from France to handcraft small batches of pure, aromatic teas. A sampling of flavors includes bergamot, Oregon peppermint, and Mao feng shui.

The metro area’s nearly 40 breweries produce tasty beers in every category. The craft spirits and cocktail scene is huge. And the region’s year-round agricultural bounty supports a sensational array of artisanal foods.

By the way, there’s a vegan mini-mall on 12th and S.E. Stark streets-so cool! Sweetpea Bakery‘s scrumptious treats make for seriously difficult decisions; go with a friend so that you can split a few! Plus, you can find soups and veganized fast-food classics. Herbivore Clothing Co. has a terrific assortment of T-shirts, hats, handbags, wallets, books, and comic books, most made by locals. The imprints range from sweet to in-your-face. Yep, you can order online too. Same goes for Food Fight! Grocery, which is packed with food, sundries, and unique items.

All around Portland, I was struck by the embrace of healthy living, the warm reception of herbivores (plenty of seats at vegan eateries are filled with omnivores), and the absence of ageist and snarky attitudes.

Now for some tips on getting around. The city is divided into quadrants by the Willamette River (which runs north/south) and by Burnside Street (which runs east/west). The cities 10 bridges include the world’s only telescoping double-deck vertical lift, which dates back to 1912 and is America’s longest tied-arch bridge.

There’s no need to rent a car. Portland’s public transportation gets it right. There’s even a Free Rail Zone (330 downtown blocks where there’s no cost to ride MAX light rail trains) as well as trolleys and streetcars (bikes are welcome onboard too). The Max’s Red Line makes it easy to get to and from the airport (PDX).

8 Comments

I’d love some detail on the cycle-with-dog-passenger in the last photo. What a great invention! Is it custom, or something that can be purchased?

Rob says...

January 22nd, 2011, 12:13 am

Portland has several folks/indie businesses that make custom bike trailers and/or cargo carts. Good places to start would be BikePortland.org . The dog cart in my photo belongs to a manager at pedalbiketours.com . Other links include http://www.xtracycle.com/cargo and http://www.joe-bike.com/bikes/cargo-bikes . Do a search for cargo bikes and bike trailers. Hope this helps!

That’s me and Holly in our cargo bike in the picture. The bike is both custom and purchasable at tomscargobikes.com. Tom will make you a bike to your exact specifications and he ships all over the country! Another local company that makes very nice cargo bikes is metrofiets.com.

We’ve had it for a year now and we use it for our 8 mile round trip commute. Holly is 14 years old but hates staying at home so it’s a great way to get her to work without a car! It’s also great for hauling groceries, kids, whatever!

cheers,
Todd

Holland VanDieren says...

January 28th, 2011, 6:23 pm

Todd — thank you for your answer. I plan to move to PDX later this year and will look up your recommendations when I’m settled. Perhaps I’ll see you and Holly wheeling about one day.

Holland VanDieren says...

January 28th, 2011, 6:26 pm

Rob — Just noticed your answer above, too. Thank you as well. Great resources for this soon-to-be Pacific Northwesterner.

Anon says...

January 31st, 2011, 8:47 am

Awww I miss biking.

I gotta fix our bike. It’s gathering a fine coat of dust now.

Rob says...

February 1st, 2011, 1:18 am

Bicycling’s an unbeatable way to explore cities. Go nearly everywhere you want, no fuel, great for fitness/health, easy/free to park, good for the planet…enjoy the ride.

toriko says...

August 22nd, 2011, 1:01 am

Yeah, biking is one way to save the necessities of a vehicle and also can make you go anywhere and everywhere without any hassle.

Portland really a nice city and good folks too.The last picture really interests me,so cute.

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